Diary of a Network Geek

I got my business cards yesterday.

Okay, so I've gotten the Human Resources speech and filled out forms. I actually collected my first paycheck. But, now, I am officially a Loomis Fargo and Company employee.

Cool.

...with a tiny foot-print!

Apparently, someone has developed the ultimate add-on upgrade for a PC. This little sucker, which is actually a series of PCI cards, turns a regular desktop PC into the world's smallest supercomputer! According to this article on Wired News, this "upgrade" costs around $25,000, which is chump-change compared to the millions that supercomputers normally cost. Okay, now, imagine a Beowulf cluster of these! (Yes, I'm kidding. I can't imagine that such a thing would actually be possible. It would be cool though, wouldn't it?)
Anyway, it seemed like a good article for a Monday morning. Sort of inspiration for getting more done, or something. Well, it was cool. Every Monday should start with something cool.

Ever wanted to make Silly Putty?

Well, thanks to the Demo page at the University of Minnesota's Chemistry Outreach Program, you can. And, you can make slime and nylon and a bunch of other stuff. It's really cool!
But remember, some of this stuff can be a little dangerous so make sure that you have your parent's permission and help before you start messing around with it. (Or, your spouse's permission, if you're married!)

Have a great weekend!

Wi-Fi is prime-time now.

Well, we knew it had to happen. It started with Starbuck's, then just slid down hill from there. Now, I'll have to be explaining wi-fi to my family.
According to this article on Wired News, Zagat has published a guide to wi-fi "hot-spot" locations. It's not enough to know where a good hotel or restraunt are anymore, now you have to know if they have a good wi-fi connection, too. And, with that, everyone is going geek. Geek is, in fact, chic. Scary.
I think this is a sign of the end times.

I have lots of them.

And, not just the annoying "always correcting everyone's poor grammar" kind of habits, either. Frankly, my bad habits are quite disturbing. At least, they are to me. I try to keep public bad habits to a minimum.
But, here's the thing, I'm trying to stop all my self-damaging, self-limiting, unhealthy bad habits. So, I asked God for help. I prayed to Him to take away all these defects of character that I can't seem to shake on my own. All done, right? Not quite. So, what's the problem? Well, some of these bad habits are rather ingrained and persistent. Pernicious, even. They've been my response to various difficulties in life for as long as I can remember. They're habits for pity's sake!
But, not too long ago, I was about to indulge in one and I asked myself, "So, what, do you want to prove God wrong or something?" It was like an internal test of my own belief in God's redemption. If I gave into the habit, it would be like trying to prove God wrong. And, I'd rather prove God right, so I didn't do it.

I wrote this, instead.

Okay, this looks like flat-out fun!

Here are two stories about craming a computer into an Army surplus ammo box. The first article is about a regular PC and the second article is about a Linux machine. Both are fun, though.
I really like the idea of an ultra-portable, but ruggedized, PC. And, what better way to ruggedize a PC than to make conform to MilSpec!?! Anyway, these two projects look like lots of fun, so check them out.

At least until all the lawsuits can get worked out.

The other day, I wrote a brief note about the troubles the National No-Call Database has been having. But, according to this article on Reuters, it has been ruled as still enforceable by the U.S. Court of Appeals. At least, it's enforceable until the lawsuit the telemarketers have started is settled. Hopefully, it will all come down in favor of the consumer who, as far as I can tell, universally despise telemarketers.

And, now, a word about the few, misguided souls who seem to think it's so terrible that these telemarketers, who aren't skilled enough to do anything else, are going to be out of work. First, these folks can, in fact, learn other phone-related jobs. For instance, telephone catalog sales. Second, telemarketers are a blight on the universe. Third, telemarketing firms waste my time, and yours, with unsolicited sales. If these bloodsuckers showed up at your door, would you still fee sorry for them? Or, would you be annoyed with the door-to-door salesperson wasteing your time? Fourth, telemarketers are a blight on the universe. No, really, they are. There's a scientific study somewhere that says so. Honest, I wouldn't lie to you about something that important.

(And, no, I'm not going to make any gratuitous comments about the California recall race, or the new governor Arnold "The Tax Terminator" Schwarzenegger. Wasn't that high-minded of me?)

No, I am not making that up.

Until fairly recently, I was pretty ignorant of clustering hardware and software. But, thanks to on-the-job experience, that's changing! So, now, I know about SANs, and Network Attached Storage, and even iSCSI. Now, there's something new: HyperSCSI. According to this article on Byte and Switch, it's the next Big Thing. Only, no one knows about it. It's been around for a bit and is very similar to iSCSI, though it has some different advantages and disadvantages. In any case, you can impress your co-workers by reading the story and casually mentioning it around the water cooler. (Do people still talk around water coolers? I always end up shouting in the the server room.)

Yes, there are some.

Returning to simple pleasures, like talking with my wife. Or, watching television with my wife and step-daughter. Losing weight because I "don't really need that extra slice of..." or dessert, for that matter. A fire in the fireplace, or wood stove, is cozy and an opportunity to enjoy my wife. I learned that store-brand food, and other things, are just as good as the name-brand, and quite a bit less expensive. (We can feed three adult-sized people on less than $300 a month. Easily. And still buy beer once in a while.)
I may be a full-time employee of Loomis Fargo now, but I still remember what it was like. And, I'm not the only one who's discovered some of these simple truths. David Dvorkin, who is still unemployed, has written an article about the "joys" of unemployment. Enjoy.

Even in prison.

Yep, those prisoners get pretty inventive. At least, according to this story on Wired News, they do. And, someone's written a book about it, called Prisoners' Inventions. It's actually a very interesting look at how a creative person can get things done, when they have to. What a shame, then, that these inventive minds turned to crime instead of, say, engineering. I bet they could devise an alternative to the space shuttle!

Anyway, a fun look at invention behind bars. Happy Friday!

Update: This was titled "Neccesity is the Mother of Invention", but some scum-sucking splogger was stealing the title graphic, so I had to rename it.